Over the decades in Collegeville and St. Joe, I’d imagine that thousands of people have stood on various stages or in front of crowds varying in size, trying to explain what makes St. Ben’s and St. John’s so special to many of the people that are lucky enough to experience them.
St. John’s and St. Ben’s bring different feelings and create different experiences for everyone. People often tell students, graduates and young alums to wait a few years to understand the sentiment. For many, all it takes is the drive down Interstate 94 to the two exits to stir memories and ground us. It is my sincere hope that, whether you are a student, class of 2019, class of 1984, or someone who is familiar with St. Ben’s and St. John’s, that your experience in St. Joe and Collegeville grounded you in some sense of togetherness, and left you with a deep understanding of what it means to live in community, to lead, and to critically think and act in the communities you are now a part of today.
The experience at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, of course, changes – as the world around us changes at a pace for which it is nearly impossible to race along. Divisiveness, disagreement, and undue actions still find their way into the walls of the schools, too. Our programs, our demographics, our teachings all change as the society around us changes. But underneath all of that is still a sense of connectedness to the consistencies that stand the test of time – the values, the friends, the physical spaces, and the togetherness experience for 4 of our most formative years.
As we now have moved beyond our years attending St. Ben’s and St. John’s, how can we lean on these places and communities that for so many have set a solid foundation? What of the values, communities, and places can we take with us to ensure that we’re making communities better and becoming impactful leaders? What does it mean to be a Bennie or a Johnnie in 2021 – how has that meaning changed over time, and what permanent pieces of our connectedness do we want to maintain permanence when asking this question in years to come? What can we do, as members of these communities, to ensure that others can experience the sense of place and grounding that we now have as a result of these places?
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By CSB/SJU Young Alums
5
44 ratings
Over the decades in Collegeville and St. Joe, I’d imagine that thousands of people have stood on various stages or in front of crowds varying in size, trying to explain what makes St. Ben’s and St. John’s so special to many of the people that are lucky enough to experience them.
St. John’s and St. Ben’s bring different feelings and create different experiences for everyone. People often tell students, graduates and young alums to wait a few years to understand the sentiment. For many, all it takes is the drive down Interstate 94 to the two exits to stir memories and ground us. It is my sincere hope that, whether you are a student, class of 2019, class of 1984, or someone who is familiar with St. Ben’s and St. John’s, that your experience in St. Joe and Collegeville grounded you in some sense of togetherness, and left you with a deep understanding of what it means to live in community, to lead, and to critically think and act in the communities you are now a part of today.
The experience at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, of course, changes – as the world around us changes at a pace for which it is nearly impossible to race along. Divisiveness, disagreement, and undue actions still find their way into the walls of the schools, too. Our programs, our demographics, our teachings all change as the society around us changes. But underneath all of that is still a sense of connectedness to the consistencies that stand the test of time – the values, the friends, the physical spaces, and the togetherness experience for 4 of our most formative years.
As we now have moved beyond our years attending St. Ben’s and St. John’s, how can we lean on these places and communities that for so many have set a solid foundation? What of the values, communities, and places can we take with us to ensure that we’re making communities better and becoming impactful leaders? What does it mean to be a Bennie or a Johnnie in 2021 – how has that meaning changed over time, and what permanent pieces of our connectedness do we want to maintain permanence when asking this question in years to come? What can we do, as members of these communities, to ensure that others can experience the sense of place and grounding that we now have as a result of these places?